Volume 2 Chapter 2
Chapter 2: The Person in Palcho Monastery
“Wan er, don’t cry. Junqing ah, what did you do to make Consort Yao angry this time?” Ye Hongyi felt unbearable heartache when he saw Yao Mowan’s tearstained face.
“She is cold-blooded and heartless!” Ye Junqing glared at Yao Mowan even as his heart ached faintly.
“He’s holding a grudge just because Wan er gave that crown prince a cat without giving him one. Your Majesty, make him leave! Wan er doesn’t want to see him anymore! Pleease?” Yao Mowan tugged at Ye Hongyi’s clothes in a childish manner as she looked up at him with her tearful eyes.
“Ahem… Junqing ah!” Ye Hongyi glanced towards Ye Junqing with a helpless expression.
“This subject brother shall withdraw!” Ye Junqing glowered at Yao Mowan, then left Guan Osprey Palace.
“Your Majesty, Wan er hates him. Can’t you just have him move out? Pretty please?” After Ye Junqing left, Yao Mowan finally loosened a breath in relief.
“If our little Wan er won’t allow him to stay, he will have nowhere left to go. Our Wan er is the most magnanimous, right?” Ye Hongyi slipped his arms under hers and hugged her gently.
“Wan er will listen to Your Majesty!” Yao Mowan smiled through her tears.
Perhaps it was because Ye Hongyi had just realized that Yao Mowan was the only one in this Inner Palace that he desired to dote on, because he was very gentle that night.
During noon, it was bright and sunny. Yao Mowan was outside, sitting on the swing with Fluffy. It was warm enough that her forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat, but she still felt cold. Whenever she called the disgusting things Ye Hongyi did last night, the coldness in her heart would increase. But what could she do? She had no way to break free from this, and she couldn’t break free either.
“Your Highness, this subordinate has discovered that there is a man living in a hidden room at Palcho Monastery. He has been there for eight years. His name is Jian Chen, and his illness is already beyond cure.” Yin Xue appeared and interrupted Yao Mowan’s thoughts.
“Eight years… Palcho Monastery is the imperial family’s Buddhist temple. They’ve never accepted secular disciples and never shelters travelers. Without Ye Hongyi’s edict, not even the abbot has the power to allow someone to stay in Palcho Monastery. Have you found who that person is?” Yao Mowan stroked Fluffy as she took in this information.
“Replying Master, this subordinate found that Jian Chen had once made an oath of eternal love with the Benevolent Prince’s daughter, who is currently Consort De. After Consort De entered the palace, that person seemed to have vanished and had never been seen on the Jianghu again. Everyone thought that he had died. Unexpected, it turns out he had been hiding in Palcho Monastery this entire time. In addition, when this subordinate was at Palcho Monastery, this subordinate saw Imperial Physician Zheng and even An Bingshan!” Yin Xue reported everything that she had discovered.
Yao Mowan suddenly looked towards Yin Xue with her bright eyes.
“How were you able to get so much information in such a short time?” These pieces of information had been shocking, but Yao Mowan found Yin Xue’s capability even more shocking. Her ability had greatly exceeded what Yao Mowan had been expecting.
“Replying Master, the Yin family clan’s hidden guards are the most influential among the hidden guards. This is due to the fact that not only is Yin Xue and Big Brother skilled, a large amount of clan members that study the technique of tracking provide us information that they personally find. The information in the hands of the Yin family clan is definitely no less than the amount the Jianghu possesses.” Yin Xue had already put it very modestly.
“Ha, no wonder Yan Nansheng was willing to use the Elements to trade for you… That’s right, you said that you encountered Imperial Physician Zheng and An Bingshan in Palcho Monastery earlier?” Yao Mowan returned to the main topic.
“Yes, and this subordinate heard An Bingshan order Imperial Physician Zheng to increase the amount of drugs he was giving Jian Chen.” In regards to reporting information, Yin Xue usually only spoke the facts without adding any opinions.
“This means that Ye Hongyi knew about Jian Chen’s existence from the start and is poisoning him secretly. Xie Siyin visits Palcho Monastery every month on the pretext of praying for blessings in order to visit her lover? The most important part is, Ye Hongyi knows that he was being cheated on, yet he had actually endured it for eight years without having a falling out with Xie Siyin! Interesting. Yin Xue, can Jian Chen still be saved?” Yao Mowan felt that there was more to this and that she needed to take a closer look at it.
“Replying Master, Yin Xue doesn’t have that ability, but Yan Nansheng can!” replied Yin Xue confidently.
“Yan Nansheng ah… Then go invite him over, just say that something terrible has happened to Ye Junqing!” Yao Mowan knew that if she didn’t bring up Ye Junqing, there was no way Yan Nansheng would come see her of his own free will in this lifetime. However, she could understand his feelings well.
“Understood!” Once Yin Xue left, Yao Mowan sank into thought while stroking Fluffy with one hand. Back then, when Ye Hongyi had first ascended to the throne, several of the older generation of princes were discontent and objected to this decision. She had tried hard to appease them, but it was to no avail. This matter only took a turn once Xie Siyin entered the palace. After she entered the palace, the Benevolent Prince had worked hard to change the opinions of the other princes and finally resolved this matter.
From what she could remember, three months after Xie Siyin entered the palace, she started going to Palcho Monastery every month. Since Ye Hongyi already knew about Jian Chen being in Palcho Monastery, it wasn’t hard to guess that Xie Siyin had entered the palace after making a deal with Ye Hongyi. Based on the Benevolent Prince’s temper, even if Xie Siyin hadn’t entered the palace, he definitely wouldn’t have allowed her to marry outside of the imperial family. Hence, with this, both of them obtained what they needed. It was quite an excellent plan!
However ah, Ye Hongyi, you still haven’t changed your habit of burning bridges once you’ve crossed them. Yao Mowan’s lips hooked in a cold smile as her eyes glittered with light.
Three months after Li Qingqing married into the Prime Minister Residence, good news was sent out. Yao Mowan was shocked but also a little happy. As expected, her judgement had been right. Li Qingqing really had been a restless person!
“Your Highness, since the lord has already drank that thing, how come the madame was still able to…” Ting Yue realized halfway through that she had asked the stupidest question in her life.
“What do you think? Liu Xing, find out who that child’s father is. Remember, don’t make it public and don’t let anyone find out, got it?” Yao Mowan lifted her brows towards Liu Xing. She suddenly couldn’t wait until the child in Li Qingqing’s belly came into this world. She really wanted to find out how much her father could tolerate.
“This servant understands!” Liu Xing carried out every task Yao Mowan gave him devoutly. Yao Tu had once hinted for him to persuade his master to let go of her grudge against the lord, but Liu Xing knew that the current Consort Yao was no longer the same foolish Third Miss of the past. No one could change Master’s mind once she decided on something.
After Liu Xing left, Ting Yue carefully walked to Yao Mowan’s side.
“Your Highness, Nurse Qin from the imperial kitchen came and prepared the afternoon meal. Should this servant separate the Esteemed Prince’s meal again and send it over?” It had been two days since Ye Junqing has shown his face in the main hall after Yao Mowan had thrown that dish at him.
“You can go prepare. This consort will go take a look later.” Yao Mowan inwardly sighed. After thinking about it, she felt that she had gone a little overboard. However, if she hadn’t done that, how could she have explained Ye Junqing’s anger to Ye Hongyi?
When Yao Mowan pushed open the door to the east wing, she was surprised by the silence. She ordered Ting Yue to wait outside as she carried the box of food in.
She placed the food box on the table softly before glancing around. The room was so simple that there was barely anything in it. There was only a table, some chairs, and a few items for tea. Other than that, there wasn’t even a decorative bonsai. This was the suitable preparations Ye Hongyi had been referring to back then? Yao Mowan’s heart ached. Ye Junqing didn’t deserve to be treated this way!
She took a deep breath to calm the ache in her heart, then slowly walked towards the bedroom. The door wasn’t closed, so she walked inside. The azure figure on the bed seemed to be napping. When she saw that the blanket was on the ground, she walked over quietly to pick up the blanket and cover Ye Junqing with it.
However, at nearly the same instant, Ye Junqing suddenly jumped up and stared in shock and wariness at the woman in front of him.
__________
Credits: Translated by Chiyomira